Last December, our “fund drive” – in which we donated 50% of every Bicycle Quarterly subscription/renewal and 25% of the price of our book The Competition Bicycle – resulted in significant donations to Doctors Without Borders and Save The Children. A month later, the earthquake in Haiti struck. Among all the terrible news, these organizations were able to help quickly – in part because of our readers’ generosity!

This shows how important it is to fund charitable organizations even when there is no immediate catastrophe. It takes time to organize the logistics and put in place the teams that can provide rapid assistance in those emergencies. (You don’t wait to buy a fire truck until the fire happens, either.) Even more importantly, there are many less visible humanitarian crises that require assistance.

Since the beginning of 2010, we have donated 5% of our profits from all our sales (magazine subscriptions, books, components) to charities. We will do the same for our new company, Compass Bicycles Ltd. We also offer signed copies of our books for a small extra charge, which goes entirely to charity. We encourage you to donate independently as well. Considering the desperate need that exists in this world, we all can be generous. (Charity Navigator is a great resource to find out whether a charity is reputable.)

It is important to remember that even if we have been affected by the recession, most of us and our families are fortunate compared to many others in the world.

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About Jan Heine, Editor, Bicycle Quarterly

I love cycling and bicycles, especially those that take us off the beaten path. I edit Bicycle Quarterly magazine, and occasionally write for other publications. One of our companies, Bicycle Quarterly Press publishes cycling books, while Compass Bicycles Ltd. makes and distributes high-quality bicycle components for real-world riders.